Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

First Edition: February 13, 2015

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.

Kaiser Health News:
Government To Grade Nursing Homes On Tougher Scale
Starting immediately, the federal government is making it harder for nursing homes to get top grades on a public report card, in part by increasing scrutiny of their use of anti-psychotic drugs and raising the bar on an array of quality measures. Those grades – in the form of one- to five-star ratings – are part of Nursing Home Compare, a government website to help consumers evaluate nursing homes. While the star ratings, which debuted in December 2008, are lauded as an important tool, critics say they rely too heavily on self-reported data and allow a majority of homes to score high ratings. (Appleby, 2/12)

Kaiser Health News:
Advocates Press For Uninsured To Get Special Enrollment Option After They See Tax Penalties
Sunday’s deadline for signing up for health insurance on the exchanges will have long passed by the time many people file their taxes this March and April. But that may be the first time it sinks in for some people that they owe a penalty for not having insurance last year. Consumer advocates want the government to give them a chance to sign up for 2015 coverage after the enrollment deadline. But federal officials say they’re not making any promises. (Andrews, 2/13)

The Associated Press:
As Sign-Up Deadline Nears, A New Risk For Obama Health Law
Thousands of people signing up for health insurance this weekend may not realize it, but their coverage under President Barack Obama's law could be short-lived. The 2015 enrollment season, which ends Sunday, has avoided last year's website meltdown so far. But a Supreme Court case could result in millions of consumers losing financial assistance for their premiums later in the year. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/12)

Los Angeles Times:
California Extends Obamacare Enrollment Deadline To Feb. 20 For Many
California gave many consumers until Feb. 20 to enroll in Obamacare coverage in anticipation of long lines this weekend. The formal deadline for open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act remains Sunday. But, like last year, the Covered California exchange has granted extra time for anyone who tries to enroll but is unable to complete the process by Sunday. Beyond Sunday, applicants can no longer sign up online on their own. Officials said after the weekend they must go through Covered California's call center, an enrollment counselor, insurance agent, county office or health plan enroller. (Terhune, 2/12)

The New York Times:
Study Backs Kentucky Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky released a study Thursday predicting that his expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would generate a positive fiscal impact of nearly $1 billion for the state over the next seven years. (Goodnough, 2/12)

The Associated Press:
Court Nixes Faith-Based Birth Control Mandate Challenge
An appeals court has ruled that the birth control coverage required by federal health care reforms does not violate the rights of several religious groups because they can seek reasonable accommodations. Two western Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses and a private Christian college had challenged the birth control coverage mandates and won lower-court decisions. (Mandak, 2/12)

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire:
Obama Embraces Meme Cliches In HealthCare.gov Pitch
President Barack Obama used a “selfie stick” and riffed on the popular “Thanks Obama” Internet meme to plug the latest health-care signup deadline in a new video posted by BuzzFeed. In a “Things Everybody Does But Doesn’t Talk About” video for the social news and entertainment website, Mr. Obama took a photo of himself using a “selfie stick” device and an iPhone. He also muttered “Thanks Obama” when his cookie was too large to fit in a glass of milk — citing an Internet meme where trivial, everyday indignities are blamed on him. He concludes the video with “YOLO,” short for “you only live once.” (Tau, 2/12)

The New York Times' First Draft:
Obama, A Selfie Stick And The Affordable Care Act
President Obama has made it abundantly clear that he will do almost anything to make sure the Affordable Care Act is a success. The latest example came on Thursday, with the release of a video produced by BuzzFeed showing him playing with a “selfie stick,” admiring himself in sunglasses, and practicing his jump shot alone in his office. Without a ball. Why would the commander in chief go through such humiliation? To remind people that they need to sign up for health insurance. (2/12)

Politico:
Between Two Mirrors, Obama Touts Health Law Sign-Up
President Barack Obama made a comic online video — complete with silly faces and several shots with a selfie stick — that reminds Americans that they only have through Sunday to sign up this year for Obamacare. A BuzzFeed video released Thursday shows the commander-in-chief speaking and checking himself out in front of a mirror, practicing his messaging that people should go to HealthCare.gov by Feb. 15 to get covered. ..After an appearance on “The Colbert Report” early in this year’s health law sign-up season, the president has been pretty low key about enrollment. This video — a follow-up perhaps to last year’s deadpan “Between Two Ferns” appearance with Zach Galifianakis — is the latest youth-focused effort on the part of the administration to boost sign-ups before the open enrollment period closes at midnight Pacific time Sunday. (Pradhan, 2/12)

The Wall Street Journal:
Signing Clay Hunt Veterans Bill, Obama Notes Rare Bipartisan Accord
President Barack Obama signed a veterans suicide prevention bill into law on Thursday, celebrating a moment of bipartisan accord and cooperation. “This is one of those areas that we can’t have an argument,” Mr. Obama said at a signing ceremony at the White House. The law, Mr. Obama said, is “a reminder of what we can accomplish when we take a break from the partisan bickering that so often dominates this town and focus on what really matters to the American people.” (Tau, 2/12)

USA Today:
Obama Signs Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill
The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act will help the Department of Veterans Affairs study new strategies for suicide prevention and give student loan incentives to recruit psychiatrists to work with veterans. The bill's namesake was a Marine Corps veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who struggled with post traumatic stress disorder and campaigned on behalf of veterans health care. He took his own life in 2011 at age 28. (Korte, 2/12)

The Associated Press:
Obama Signs Veterans Suicide Prevention Bill
The law requires the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department to submit to independent reviews of their suicide prevention programs and make information on suicide prevention more easily available to veterans. It also offers financial incentives to psychiatrists and other mental health professionals who agree to work for the VA and assist military members as they transition from active duty to veteran status. (2/12)

NPR:
The Black Market For Stolen Health Care Data
President Obama is at Stanford University today, hosting a cybersecurity summit. He and about a thousand guests are trying to figure out how to protect consumers online from hacks and data breaches. Meanwhile, in the cyber underworld, criminals are trying to figure out how to turn every piece of our digital life into cash. The newest frontier: health records. (Shahani, 2/13)

Los Angeles Times:
Anthem Says Hackers Had Access To Customer Data Back To 2004
Insurance giant Anthem Inc. said Thursday that hackers had access to customer data going back to 2004 as investigations continue into the massive breach. The nation's second-largest health insurer disclosed the new time frame as it prepares to offer two years of free identity-theft protection to millions of affected consumers starting Friday. (Terhune, 2/12)

Los Angeles Times:
Anthem Data Breach Poses A Big Test For Its CEO
In unusually blunt terms, the chief executive of Anthem Inc. told investors recently that his company and the health insurance industry rank last in customer service. That was before the insurance giant disclosed a massive data breach last week affecting as many as 80 million Americans. Now, there's a lot at stake in how CEO Joseph Swedish handles his first full-blown crisis at the nation's second-largest health insurer. (Terhune, 2/12)

The Wall Street Journal:
A ‘Swear Jar’ For Drug Makers
Should drug makers that break the law be required to pay an extra penalty that would be used to fund the National Institutes of Health? Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.) believes this idea would not only provide needed money for medical research, but would help persuade drug makers to curtail bad behavior. Last month she introduced a bill, the Medical Innovation Act, that she has described as the equivalent of a swear jar. (Silverman, 2/12)

The New York Times:
Few Health System Studies Use Top Method, Report Says
The gold standard of scientific research, routinely used in the development of new drugs, has been neglected in studies meant to improve the American health care system, researchers reported on Thursday in the journal Science. The method, known as random assignment, compares outcomes for people randomly chosen to receive a treatment with the results for those who are left untreated. Economists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology analyzed hundreds of studies in top academic journals and found that only 18 percent of such research used this rigorous method. (Tavernise, 2/12)

The Washington Post:
Va. House, Senate Pass Budget Packages
Virginia’s House and Senate on Thursday passed separate but similar budget bills, both of which reject Medicaid expansion, provide raises to state employees and plow more money into universities and the state’s rainy-day fund. (Vozzella and Portnoy, 2/12)

The New York Times:
Newtown Panel’s Report Aims To Improve Safety
More than two years after Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 schoolchildren and six faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., as well as killing his mother and himself, a state commission released a draft report of a wide-ranging set of recommendations on Thursday with the goal of preventing such killings. (Santora, 2/12)